Bristol's £11m cycling budget spent or allocated says council

In these straitened times it is perhaps not surprising that Bristol City Council has stated that it has either spent or allocated all of the funding awarded to help make Bristol the UK's first Cycling City.

After all, with the scrapping of Cycling England there may have been a degree of concern that some Whitehall mandarin seeking to claw money back for the Treasury could have turned a beady eye towards that juicy £11.4m budget.

The council has said two thirds of the money was used to either build or improve cycle tracks in Bristol, reports the BBC, with some of the funding spent on creating 20mph zones in the city.

Referring to the financial pressures placed on people by the economic downturn, Councillor Jon Rogers said: "It's likely that people will need to leave their cars at home and get out on their bikes.

"What we're trying to do is get much more sustainable transport and cycling is one of the ways of doing that."

Councillor Rogers said 28 miles of cycle tracks and lanes had been upgraded as a result of the extra funding.

Part of the funding was spent on a £200,000 cycle lane covering 4.5km (2.7 miles) that is due to be finished by 17 December which will make it easier for South Gloucestershire residents to bike to the Cribbs Causeway mall.

Starting at Bradley Stoke leisure centre, the path passes through Savage's Wood, the A38, Hampton Lane, Park Avenue business park, Patchway, and Coniston Road before delivering cyclists close to the out of town shopping mall.

The new route features resurfaced paths, new street lighting and safe level crossing points.

Councillor Brian Allinson, South Gloucestershire executive member for Cycling City said: "This route will make it easier for cyclists to travel to Cribbs Causeway, which is timely for that last bit of Christmas shopping."